A top official of the town planning section of Rajuk said the hotel authorities have not yet got approval for land use but he was not sure whether they have applied for it.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Shahid Alam first said the hotel authorities have obtained approval. But when this correspondent pointed out that they have not got approval, he said the hotel authorities have applied for approval.

Asked, Managing Director of Sonargaon Hotel Gholam Nabi said, "I have to talk to the project officials about why they are going on with the work without Rajuk approval."

Another official of the Building Construction (BC) committee of Rajuk said, "We have not yet approved the hotel's construction plan, as they have not applied so far."

The civil aviation secretary, who intervened in the matter following Rajuk notices, asked the Rajuk authorities not to proceed further as the Rajuk was taking steps against violation of building construction act and rules.

The secretary held a meeting with Rajuk Chairman KAM Haroon on August 30 at Sonargaon Hotel in this regard and directed the chairman not to go further with action against the hotel authorities.

Shahid Alam, a former chairman of Rajuk, is now the ex-officio chairman of the Hotels International Limited that runs Sonargaon Hotel.

Authorities of the five-star hotel started construction work on the hotel's extension project that includes a multi-storeyed car parking, convention hall, tower block, boundary and retaining walls and peripheral road network to the southeast of the hotel's main establishment, allegedly without land use clearance and approval of construction plan.

Prof Md Mujibur Rahman, who led a study group of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) on the Begunbari Canal, said that constructions like BGMEA building and Sonargaon Hotel extension building are not compatible with the recommendations the team had made in their study report.

But the secretary-level intervention put off legal action against the hotel authorities.

Shahid Alam however said, "I just asked the Rajuk authorities not to hold up the work. I did not bar them from slapping penalty or taking any legal action."

Rajuk served the first notice on August 6 this year requesting the Sonagaon Hotel authorities to produce approved plan for the construction but the latter failed to make any response within the stipulated time.

It served the second notice on August 17 asking the hotel authorities to show cause within seven days as to why unauthorised construction of the hotel's extension should not be demolished.

The notice stated that the hotel authorities have been going on with construction work in violation of section three of the Building Construction Act of 1952.

The hotel authorities have to pay approval fees at penalty rate (ten times than the regular) to get the construction design passed and an additional fine for construction without obtaining approved plan, according to the Building Construction Act.